Bucks &amp; Oxon

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T152528.221-1000x667.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-159709" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T152528.221-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T152528.221-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T152528.221-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T152528.221.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Netflix</figcaption></figure>



Bridgerton is back baby (season 3 drops 16 May just FYI). And here at HQ we won&#8217;t just be on tenterhooks to see how the whole Polin thang works out; we&#8217;ll be playing &#8216;spot the fabulous local landmark&#8217; too. Local hotspots for the filming of Bridgerton 3 included <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/oxfordshire-buckinghamshire-berkshire/claydon-house" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Claydon House</a> in Bucks, a National Trust beauty where you can oggle the art and interiors and see the bedroom where Florence Nightingale slept, alongside working out which Bridgerton pile it stood in for. The crew also set up stall at <a href="https://www.blenheimpalace.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Blenheim Palace</a>, which has already starred in the Bridgerton spin-off,&nbsp;Queen Charlotte,&nbsp;but makes its debut in series 3 of the Regency rompathon alongside another Bridgerton newbie, <a href="https://kbhevents.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kingston Bagpuize House</a>. As a backdrop in Downton and Emma, the Oxon stately home has seen its fair share of A-Listers before, mind. Then finally there&#8217;s Bucks&#8217; Halton House on RAF Halton, not one you can visit bar the odd heritage open day, but it&#8217;s been a fave of the Bridgerton location scouts since series 1. Bustiers and binoculars at the ready!



While we&#8217;re on the subject of the small screen, AppleTV has this month announced that it&#8217;s bagged the rights to Oxford author Mick Herron&#8217;s Down Cemetery Road. The thriller TV series will star Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson and is sure to be using the dreaming spires to shoot &#8211; watch this space.



Thought Clarkson&#8217;s Farm had given you all the highs, lows and belly laughs it could? Then you might want to have a little gander at this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k9NMbQe0C4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trailer for series 3</a>, which shows Diddly Squat Farm&#8217;s got a lot more to give &#8211; piglets and tears, blackberry hoovers, Kaleb classic moments and health and safety nightmares. We never thought we&#8217;d say it, but it&#8217;s strangely compelling.&nbsp;



Bucks-raised Jimmy Carr chose Aylesbury&#8217;s Waterside Theatre for the filming of his (somewhat Marmite) Netflix special &#8211; Natural Born Killer (just Google a handful of reviews and you&#8217;ll see what we mean). He&#8217;s back at the venue, <a href="https://www.jimmycarr.com/tour/">live on 4 Oct</a>, if you want to see what all the fuss is about.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T155559.904-1000x667.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-159724" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T155559.904-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T155559.904-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T155559.904-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T155559.904.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



Bucks is on something of a roll &#8211; Gemma Collins (Only Way in Essex if you need informing) has announced on hitched.com that <a href="https://www.hedsor.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hedsor House</a> near Bourne End, above, would be the dream venue for her wedding to fiancé Rami, set for 2026. The Italianate-style Georgian mansion overlooks the Thames, has a stonking ballroom, plush gardens and interiors, and has hosted the likes of Elton John, the Beckhams, George Clooney and Kiera Knightly as well as appearing in Legend and The Golden Compass, so a Gemma Collins wedding shouldn&#8217;t be too much of a stretch, surely?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-foodie-news">FOODIE NEWS</h2>



Abingdon&#8217;s riverfront café, literally the one that&#8217;s at the water&#8217;s edge as you drive over the bridge into Abingdon, has reopened under new owners Viktor and Gemma. Annie&#8217;s at The Boathouse is now Abingdon Riverside Café and has had a little glow-up inside but is currently sticking with a simple menu of drinks, cakes and ice creams &#8211; what more do you need for a day on the river? Previous owners Douglas and Henrietta and their legendary scones can still be found at <a href="https://www.anniesboathouse.co.uk/CanalYard.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annie&#8217;s at Thrupp</a>, in Kidlington&#8217;s Canal Yard. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T205610.326.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-159786" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T205610.326.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T205610.326-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T205610.326-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T205610.326-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



Bicester&#8217;s got a new pizza joint opening this week (27 April). <a href="https://rusticabistrot.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rustica Bistrot</a> is all about the dough &#8211; a special recipe called Pinsa that makes it super crispy and light. It&#8217;ll also offer starters burrata, bruschetta and arancine and proper Italian puds. Just don&#8217;t ask for a stuffed crust, &#8216;kay? 



Cholsey&#8217;s bijoux <a href="https://www.oxshed.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Oxshed</a> café is turning itself into something of a pre-school parents destination adding to its fab coffee, cakes and seasonal lunch menu with a new children&#8217;s area upstairs, plus a board games library and plans to offer games nights (though they&#8217;re for the big kids only).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-festie-news-incoming">FESTIE NEWS INCOMING</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T205959.258.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-159788" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T205959.258.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T205959.258-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T205959.258-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T205959.258-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



Blenheim Palace has announced the chef stars that&#8217;ll make an appearance at its tenth <a href="https://www.blenheimpalace.com/whats-on/events/food-festival/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Food Festival</a> and its certainly covered every genre from the old school French culinary master, Raymond Blanc, to TikTok&#8217;s foodie heart throb, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samseats/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sam Way</a>, and up-and-coming star <a href="https://www.instagram.com/cheflivburt/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Olivia Burt</a>, a finalist for MasterChef the Professionals in 2019. They&#8217;ll be starring alongside the produce stalls, food trucks, cooking demos and entertainment. 



News broke last week that Bucks&#8217; <a href="https://pennfest.net/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Penn Fest</a> won&#8217;t go ahead this year due to financial woes. With Richard Ashcroft, Jess Glynn and Paul Weller already confirmed for 2024, it was set to be a belter. But don&#8217;t give up hope yet &#8211; they&#8217;re still deadset on running the event again in 2025.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-and-finally">AND FINALLY</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T215905.812.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-159796" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T215905.812.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T215905.812-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T215905.812-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Untitled-design-2024-04-22T215905.812-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



Bijoux interiors and fashion brand <a href="https://www.instagram.com/whitecoco_insta/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">White Coco</a> has chosen Oxford&#8217;s Summertown for its third boutique. It&#8217;s set to open 24 April in South Parade with coffee, brownies and fizz for the first day&#8217;s shoppers. Summertown joins Chelsea&#8217;s The King&#8217;s Road and Hungerford as the chosen locales &#8211; big shades at the ready, sweetie. 



For the savvy shoppers among you, head on over to Westgate Oxford on 17-19 May and you can nab a bargain at the pre-loved fashion pop-up ‘<a href="https://weare.shop/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">we are</a>,’ back after the success of last year. Clothes are sold by weight, with prices starting at £5 for t-shirts and you can take along your unwanted gems that you still haven&#8217;t got around to selling on Vinted. 



<a href="https://www.david-johnston.org.uk/news/david-host-send-fair-didcot" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">An information fair</a> for families who have kids with Special Educational Needs is taking place in Didcot on 28 May 12.30-4.30pm with the aim of showcasing all the local and national organisations that can offer support to SEND children and their families. It&#8217;s a free event at the Civic Hall.

The latest filming spots in Bucks & Oxon, plus foodie and festival news

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